DDoS attacks attempt to crash a network by sending large amounts of data to a service provider.

A group calling itself the "Lizard Squad" claimed on Twitter to be behind the attack. It said that it had "planted the ISIS flag on @Sony's servers," referring to the militant group that occupies parts of Syria and Iraq.

Earlier on Sunday, the group tweeted directly to American Airlines writing that it had "received reports" that a flight carrying Smedley "has explosives on board." This appeared to be a way to aggravate Sony further. Smedley had tweeted earlier that his flight had been diverted for reasons that had to do with "something about security and our cargo."

The Boeing 757, with 179 passengers and six crew which left from Dallas-Fort Worth for San Diego was diverted to Phoenix due to a "a security-related issue" and landed safely, according to American Airlines.

Loek is Amsterdam Correspondent and covers online privacy, intellectual property, open-source and online payment issues for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com

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